Shoe-lace holder.



H. F. MOLKENBUR.

SHOE LACE HOLDER. APPLICATION FILED FEB.10. 190s.

PATENTED JAN. 15, 1907.

HENRY F. MOLKENBUR, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

SHOE-LACE HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 15, 1907.

Application filed February 1O 1905. Serial No. 245,027.

To wZZ whom it nuty concern.

Be it known that I, HENRY F. MOLKEN- BUR, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inShoe-Lace Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in shoe-lace holders designed foruse where double lacings are to be passed about hooks or studs.

It is the object of the invention to provide a device which will holdthe two ends or portions of the lacing so spaced apart from each otherthat by taking the holder in one hand both portionsof the lacing may bepassed bout their respective studs. The holder is securely butadjustably held upon the lacing portions and is so constructed that itmay be easily anchored to a hook or stud having an overturned end tohold the lacing fast.

To this end my invention consists in the construction, combination, andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure1 is a front view of the upper part of a shoe or boot, showing mylace-holder in place upon the lacing. Fig. 2 is a view of the holderwith one end of a lacing secured thereto, and Fig. 3 is an edge view ofthe holder.

As shown in the drawings, the holder con sists of a sheet-metal plate A,formed in each end with a pair of openings 3, adapted to receive theends of the lacing 2, which are passed forwardly through one opening andbackwardly through the other, as shown in Fig. 2. The two pairs ofopenings are spaced apart approximately the same distance as thedistance between two adjacent studs on the same side. As one portion ofthe lacing will pass through one pair of openings and the other portionof the lacing through the other pair, the two lacing portions will beheld apart in substantial parallelism and at such distance from eachother as to fall into place evenly about any two adj acent studs whenthe shoe is being laced. In

order to hold the lacing more securely, the rear wall of each opening isformed with a spur or tooth 4. With the two pairs of openings thusinterspaced the holder and connected lacing may be anchored to a hook orstud. with overturned end, such as those shown in the drawings, bymerely placing the holder outside the desired stud, and the tension ofthe lacing will draw it under the end of the stud and hold it in place;but to hold it more securely, as well as to steady it in position, Iprefer to form it in its inner edge with a recess 5 to receive the shankof one of the lacing studs or hooks h of the shoe 7, as shown in Fig. 1.

To thread the ends of the lacing through the openings in the holder,each end is preferably cut to a point 8 and saturated with some solutionwhich will hold the threads together and allow the lacing to be threadedthrough the eyelets 9 of the shoe and the openings of the holder. Afterthe lacing has been threaded through the eyelets of the shoe and throughthe openings of the holder the shoe is laced as follows: The lacingportion on the right side of the shoe is first carried under the hook A.The holder is then grasped by the fingers of one hand and carried acrossalternately from side to side, whereby both lacing portions are broughtin unison into the same relative position with the respective studs ofeach adjacent pair. holder is carried to the right one lacing portionwill engage stud I), while the other portion is similarly engaging studc, and when the holder is carried again to the left the lacing portionswill in unison engage studs 51 and e. \Vhen the lacings have been passedabout studs f and g, the holder is inserted out side of stud h, so thatthe stud shall rest in the recess 5 between the pair of openings, thelacing being drawn as taut as desired and drawn through the openings inthe holder to take up the slack.

I claim 1. In combination a shoe having lacingstuds and a double lacing,of a holder formed with two pairs of openings, said pairs of openingsbeing so interspaced as to receive the two portions of the lacing and tohold them apart a distance greater than the width of one of said studs,said holder having means for engaging with one of said studsintermediate of said pairs of openings to hold the lacing taut.

Thus when the 2. In combination witha shoe having lac- In testimonywhereof I afiix my signature ing-studs and a double lacing, of a holderin presence of two Witnesses. formed with openings so interspaced as 'tohold the two portions ofthe 5 stantial parallelism, said hold in itsinner edge between said lacings in suber being formed openlngs with arecess 5, for the purpose set forth.

HENRY F. MOLKENBUR.

Witnesses:

H. S. JoHNsoN, EMILY F. OTIS.

